"Pighting!"

Today I ran my first race in Korea! They sure are different here than at home. One time I ran one with Beth and it was downtown Ann Arbor. There were bands along the side of the road, people cheering everywhere! Beth and I joked that we felt like we were Rocky, running up the stairs with theme music in the background. Here, all I got was about 5 people saying, "Pighting!" I'm not really sure why, but they always saying "fighting!" to the runners, except most can't say the "f" sound :) Anyway, no one cheers and it's not even very exciting to cross the finish line :( It was a little exciting though, cause I got first place for the girls! BUT, don't be impressed, I must admit all the Korean girls walked after about 5 min., so it's not saying much...haha! It was still fun though! Maybe I'll do another race before winter.

These days I'm discovering that our natural tendency is to be mean. Sad, but true. I don't have to look long at my kindergarteners to see a prime example. This week they've been bringing in posters in which they have traced their whole bodies, colored on clothes and answered questions. When I say they, I kind of mean their mothers ;) They looked so cute though!! The first girl's was awesome!! I thought it was going to be hard for the others since she set the bar so high. The next day, another girl came in, very upset. She relecutantly unrolled her poster and as I was admiring it's beauty, she pointed out some scribbles in the corner. She said her 2 year old sister did it. She was really upset, because hers didn't look as good as the other girl's. After some convincing, I told her that I would tell the class that her sister was just "helping" since she's not old enough to write words yet. The girl seemed satistied.....then the class came in. Of course, one of the boys, right off the bat said, "Ugh, it's ugly. Look at the scribbles!" Shoooot. Kids are so mean. I don't think they mean to be, they just say whatever is in their head. Needless to say, I launched into an "everyone is different" speech, trying to explain that just as our posters are "different," so are they...yada, yada, yada... I was interrupted by one kid picking his nose. I considered ignoring it, but figured it's too gross to let go. So my speech was cut short to fetch a kleenex. When is it that we as people learn to be nice? We all have to work at it. Maybe we're still learning!

If you really knew me

This week my journaling lead to me thinking about my upbringing. As I thought about it, I decided that I am the way I am because of my family. Yes I've had other experiences apart from them, but really, I can't even start to pick apart where their influence begins and ends. If you really knew me, you would know my family. Even me being the youngest of three children makes a difference in my personality. I realized this week that sadly, no one here in Korea has known me more than a year. No one here knows my whole life. What if someone asked me about my life, what would I say? I would have to say, come meet my family and spend some time in my small town of Dexter, MI and then you will understand why I am the way I am. It's not even just my immediate family either! It's my grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins that make me who I am. The older I get, the more I can see how special my ordinary, seemingly boring life has been. I really think I have been blessed to be part of the best family in the world.

Out and About

When the snow comes...

The past couple of days, I happened to be in the classroom when the kids came back from lunch. I noticed something peculiar. One of my boys, would linger around the classroom, pretending to be busy doing something, but really just waiting for everyone else to leave. Finally, when it was just me and him, he'd come up and give me a big hug and sit on my lap. This was strange, because he usually is "too cool" to hug the teacher. After a few minutes of talking with him, I told him I was going to go to the store or get coffee. Both days, he said, "NO! Please don't go..." At time time I remember thinking this was strange, cause he's not usually the loving type of kid.

Today in just our normal classroom conversation, I understood. We were "trying" to write a letter to someone. At first he wrote, "Dear Mom and Dad." Then he erased dad. He said, "Just Mom." When I asked why, he told me that his Dad went to go live with his Grandparents and uncle. Unprompted, he began to spill how his mom and dad were fighting and now his dad went away. He said he will not see him until "the snow comes," which I guess means Christmas. This kid is SUPER into baseball and boy things. When I asked him how it made him feel, he looked down and said, "Sad, because now no one can take me to the baseball game..." Ugh, my heart just broke for him!

I guess I'd just been living in a false reality, thinking that Korean kids didn't have to deal with these things. Divorce is not as common here and I rarely hear about it. I've met the parents here, and it never even occurred to me that MY students could be dealing with these things. He's 5. I know he doesn't fully understand everything, but to him, he just knows his daddy left. I'm glad I know. I love this little boy... I don't know how to best teach him.

A Hot Palace

I guess they grow rice in palaces too!

They looked kind of miserable :)

Today I wanted to be outside and read under a tree in a park. The day didn't exactly turn out as I'd expected, but it was fun anyway. I had heard about this Secret Garden at one of the palaces in Seoul, and had always wanted to go. So, today was the day. I thought a "secret" garden would be a perfect place to sit on a bench and read all afternoon. Well, it turns out that the "Secret Garden" was only open for tours. There happened to be an English tour soon, so I got a ticket. Oh man was it hot today! Full sun, and full hot and stick humidity...ugh. This weather is quickly comparing to the hot China summer I had. It's the kind of hot where your legs sweat when you're sitting still. So, about 50 foreigners gathered together, each sweating profusely, trying to get excited about this tour, which turned out to be 1 1/2 hours and on a mountain (ok maybe that's an exaggeration, but at least a few big hills!) I was surrounded by mostly American guys around my age and their Korean girlfriends....typical... One of these couples was obviously on their first date and their awkward conversation was cracking me up! It amazes me how Korean girls always look good. Here I was dripping with sweat, looking fairly gross I'm sure, and then there are the always beautiful Korean girls. I don't know how they do it!

The tour was really cool, actually. It really was beautiful! About the last ten minutes of the tour it started storming. It only rained for 10 minutes, but it was one of the soaker rains that I've only seen in Korea. Just enough to get me all drenched before the subway ride back, haha. Oh well, it was fun!

Reunited

Takin a nap.

A Korean soldier.

One of the fences near North Korea.

And they headed back on the long journey...

All of us exercising on the outdoor equipment. This is my park bench that I sit at almost everyday after lunch in the park.

They visited my school!







Gettin into the baseball game cheers. The crowd is so into it, I couldn't help but join them! My dad is trying not to laugh at me. :)

At a palace.

Fixing dinner for them.

Busy street by the theater that we went to.

Note that they are both using chopsticks!

All that you can see is North Korea.

Who would have ever thought that I would be saying that my mom and dad spent the past week in Korea!? It was so good to see them. It's strange how it had been almost 8 months since I'd seen them, yet it seemed like nothing had changed. :) They did surprisingly well in Korea! I thought they would be jet-lagged and not like the culture, but they found everything very interesting. I got to do some things this week that I'd never done before too! One of my favorite things was a trip to the DMZ, which is the demilitarized zone between both North and South Korea. It was so interesting! I actually could see North Korea from where I was standing. We even got to go into one of the tunnels that North Korea dug to attack the South (don't worry, it is blocked off!) We went on a Bus Tour, to a War Museum, Dr. Fish and to all of my favorite places and restaurants. They were able to see my school.

The weather was pretty hot this week, so we had to bust out the Asian fan a few times :) It rained a lot of the time :( My mom and dad were surprised that the rain just seems to come out of no where! It's true. You never leave the house without an umbrella. I think they were also suprised at how crowded it is here. So many people everywhere!

I think I was most happy about the fact that they can now better understand my life here. Now when I tell them about things or send pictures, they will know what I'm talking about! I'm so glad they got to come and see my life here! At the rate the year is flying by, I'll be home for Christmas right around the corner :)